Stop Motors Mid-flight!?

[jimapp]

As we all may do from time to time I have been re-reading the Mavic manual; page 54 woke me up! Quoted from text;

"Stop motors mid-flight will cause the aircraft to crash. (Duh) The motors can only be stopped mid-fight when the flight controller detects a critical error. (This setting can be changed in the DJI GO 4 app)"

Ok my thinking is...is this why the unexplained "falling from the sky" in some cases? If so where in the DJI GO 4 app can we disable that feature?

 

[msinger]

is this why the unexplained "falling from the sky" in some cases?

No. I've never seen a Mavic flight log where someone crashed after doing a CSC mid-flight.

where in the DJI GO 4 app can we disable that feature?

Choose the first option below if you want CSC to always work mid-flight.

On Apple devices:




On Android devices:

 

[jimapp]

No. I've never seen a Mavic flight log where someone crashed after doing a CSC mid-flight.



Choose the first option below if you want CSC to always work mid-flight.

On Apple devices:

View attachment 13875


On Android devices:

View attachment 13876

Ok I misunderstood, I knew about the csc method but the text suggested to me this was automatic if an error was detected. Thanks for the clarification, guess I'm just reading too much into this [emoji15]

 

[msinger]

It's a manual process either way, but it allows you to perform it mid-flight if an error is detected. DJI does not have documentation explaining which errors it applies to, so it'll still be sort of a mystery if you select the second option (the default selection).

 

[CeeDeeJay]

If I want to be able to stop the Mavic's motors mid-flight, which option should be selected on an Apple device?:
A. CSC Maneuver
~or~
B. For use in emergencies only

Thank you.

 

[Simmo]

A

 

[CeeDeeJay]

Thank you for answering that I should select the "CSC Maneuver" option for being able to stop the Mavic's motors mid-flight. It is a counter-intuitive choice, because the only time that I would want to stop the motors mid-flight would be for an emergency.

If I select the "CSC Maneuver" option, will I need to use the CSC maneuver in order to stop the Mavic's motors on every landing from now on? I do not trust the CSC maneuver for stopping a UAV's motors after the UAV has landed. A co-worker used the CSC maneuver to stop the motors on our Mavic Pro after it had landed and it started to flip the UAV over. Fortunately, the UAV did not flip over, because I told him to release the right stick and just use the throttle to shut down.

If I select the "For use in emergencies only" option, how will that choice affect shutting the motors down when landing and in mid-flight?

Now that I have gone into the app and touched both options, I do not remember which one was the default option. What is the default option?

Thank you.

 

[msinger]

If I select the "CSC Maneuver" option, will I need to use the CSC maneuver in order to stop the Mavic's motors on every landing from now on?

The CSC maneuver will work when the Mavic is on the ground no matter which option is selected. After landing, you can also hold the left stick down for a few seconds to stop the motors. As you pointed out, CSC is not the best option since it could cause the Mavic to flip/tilt if not done cleanly.

If I select the "For use in emergencies only" option, how will that choice affect shutting the motors down when landing and in mid-flight?

This setting does nothing but change the behavior of the CSC while the Mavic is in the air.

What is the default option?

For use in emergencies only is the default setting. It's also what's selected if you're ever flying a DJI drone where this setting cannot be changed in DJI GO.

 

[CeeDeeJay]

Thank you for answering each of my questions. Please confirm my understanding, because it is all counter-intuitive to me:

1. If I want to be able to stop the motors mid-flight for an emergency, I need to have the "CSC Maneuver" option selected and then use the CSC maneuver to stop the motors mid-flight whenever I have an emergency.
2. If I have the "CSC Maneuver" option selected, I can (and should) continue to use the throttle stick to shut the motors down when landing.

Why would DJI make the "For use in emergencies only" option as the default? How does this option affect the behavior of the CSC while the Mavic is in the air?

Thank you again.

 

[msinger]

If I want to be able to stop the motors mid-flight for an emergency, I need to have the "CSC Maneuver" option selected and then use the CSC maneuver to stop the motors mid-flight whenever I have an emergency.

You must select "CSC Maneuver" if you want to be able to stop the motors via a CSC at anytime mid-flight.

If you select "For use in emergencies only" instead, you will only be able to do a CSC mid-flight if you're in a situation that DJI considers an emergency (which they've never documented). It should work in a case (for example) where your Mavic gets stuck in a tree and the props are still spinning. However, it will not work if your Mavic is headed toward a crowd of people and you decide you want to kill the motors to prevent any injuries.

If I have the "CSC Maneuver" option selected, I can (and should) continue to use the throttle stick to shut the motors down when landing.

As I noted above, this setting does not affect the way you turn off the motors after landing. You will always have the option to do a CSC or hold the left stick down for a few seconds.

Why would DJI make the "For use in emergencies only" option as the default?

Because they don't want pilots to accidentally perform a CSC mid-flight. It's reasonable to assume lots of people don't know a CSC can be performed mid-flight since not everyone reads the full manual.

How does this option affect the behavior of the CSC while the Mavic is in the air?

It allows you to perform a CSC in situations DJI has determined are an emergency (again, this is undocumented). You should assume it will never work during any kind of normal flight maneuvers.

 

[CeeDeeJay]

msinger,

Thank you for providing very detailed answers. I fully understand now.

Thanks again.